Bijapur

“ The kingdom had been for some time rapidly falling to ruin, and in 1686 the Mogul emperor Aurangzeb, who as Shah Jahan’s general had unsuccessfully besieged the city under Mahommed Adil Shah, took Bijapur and annexed the kingdom to the Delhi empire. Among the curiosities of the capital is the celebrated monster gun (Malik-i-Maidan) , stated to be the largest piece of cast bronze ordnance in the world. It was captured from the king of Ahmednagar by the king of Bijapur about the middle of the 17th century. ”

“ It is, indeed, mean in the extreme as compared with the tombs of his predecessors or with those of the kings of Bijapur and Golconda, but its very meanness and obscurity invest it with a melancholy interest. The great conqueror would have no splendid mausoleum. "The rich," he said "build lofty domes to cover their remains, for the poor the blue vault of heaven, suffices." ”

“ Pratap Rao Gujar, the Maratha commander-in- chief, was detached with a slightly larger force and artillery, to meet the danger. He tried to envelop Bahlol's army near Umrani, between Miraj and Bijapur, cutting him off from his water supply. The battle raged all day with intense ferocity. Many were slain on both sides, the Marathas suffering less than the Bijapuris. After sunset, Bahlol induced Pratap to grant a truce, while he promised not to
is at least 200 miles. It is very far away from Bijapur, off the usual track of campaigns, and occupying an out-of-the-way hilly nook. ”

“ Inside these walls the Bijapur kings bade defiance to all comers. Outside the walls are the remains of a vast city, now for the most part in ruins, but the innumerable tombs, mosques, caravanserais and other edifices, which have resisted the havoc of time, afford abundant evidence of the ancient splendour of the place. Among its many buildings three are specially worthy of mention. The Gol Gunbaz, or tomb of Sultan Mahommed Adil Shah, which was built 1626–1656, is one of the most interesting buildings in the world. ”

“ The siege of Bijapur interfered very little with Aurangzib's plans for the conquest of Golconda, and he had already, in 1684, before marching against Bijapur, commenced operations in the eastern kingdom. Troops were sent, first under Khan-i-Jahan Kukaltash, and then under prince Muhammad Mu'azzam, the emperor's second son, to wrest from Abul Hasan, the king of Golconda, some tracts of Telingana which he claimed as part of his dominions. ”

“ Throughout all this wrangling the little kingdom of Bidar fought for its own hand, allying itself now with one power or combination of powers and now with another. The craft and political acumen of its rulers preserved the little state intact for a longer period than might have been expected, though its preservation is partly to be attributed to the jealousy existing between the three kingdoms of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda which was for a long time sufficiently strong to ensure the combination of two of the three against an attempt by any one of them to absorb Bidar. ”

“ The Adil Shāhi dynasty of Bijapur (1492-1686) was of foreign extraction and held the Shiah form of Islām, prevalent in Persia, whilst they largely employed Persian officers. This probably influenced their architecture and led to that largeness of scale and grandeur which characterized the style, differing markedly from that of the buildings of Agra and Delhi, but scarcely, if at all, inferior in originality of design and boldness of execution. There is no trace of Hindu forms or details; the style was their own, and was worked out with striking boldness and marked success. ”

“ It was against the Mahommedan king of Bijapur in the Deccan that Sivaji, the hero of Mahratta history, first rebelled in 1657. Sivaji and his fighting officers were Mahrattas of humble caste, but his ministers were Brahmans. When the Mogul Empire absorbed the Bijapur kingdom he defied the emperor. He imparted a self-reliant enthusiasm to his countrymen, formed them into an army, and organized them as a political community; his mountaineer infantry, though limited in numbers, proved desperately courageous; his cavalry was daring and ubiquitous. ”

“ The first was that Yusuf should receive the late minister's province of Bijapur, to the government of which he was appointed. Here he was enabled to provide for all the foreign nobles and officers who had rallied round him on the death of Khaja Mahmud. A redistribution of appointments had become necessary and the Deccanis could not be entirely overlooked. Hasan Nizam-ul-mulk, who richly deserved death, was made minister, and another Deccani amir with the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk was appointed to the government of Daulatabad, rendered vacant by the transfer of Yusuf Adil Khan to Bijapur ”

“ The climate is unhealthy—fever, smallpox, dysentery and rheumatism being the prevailing diseases. Jagdalpur, Bijapur, Madder and Bhupalpatnam are the only places of any note in the dependency, the first (on the Indravati river) being the residence of the raja and the chief people of the state. The principal products are rice, oil-seeds, lac, tussur silk, horns, hides, wax and a little iron. Teak timber is floated down the rivers to the Madras coast. A good road has brought Jagdalpur into connexion with the railway at Raipur. ”

“ The great Audience Hall, for instance (Woodcut No. 325) , opens in front with an arch 82 ft. wide, which, had it been sufficiently abutted, might have been a grand architectural feature; as it is, it is too like an engineering work to be satisfactory. Its cornice was in wood, and some of its supports are still in their places. Indeed, it is one of the peculiarities of the architecture of this city that, like the English architects in their roofs, those of Bijapur clung to wood as a constructive expedient long after its use had been abandoned in other parts of India. ”

“ Human labour, and a few cattle, with a little grain and some sticks, are the only essential requisites for the foundation or reconstruction of a village.
15. Golconda was taken by Aurangzēb, after a protracted siege, in 1677. Bījāpur surrendered to him on the 15th October, 1686. The vast ruins of this splendid city, which was deserted after the conquest, occupy a space thirty miles in circumference. The town has partially recovered, and is now the head- quarters of a Bombay District, with about 24,000 inhabitants. Sivājī, the founder of the Marāthā power, died in 1680. ”

“ The Marathi chronicles, Sabh. 38-46, Chit. 101-107, and Dig. 236-241, contain later and partly legendary accounts, but are our only authority for the doings of the Marathas. force so as to cause distraction to the enemy or deal a concentrated blow at a vital point.
In view of his two enemies, Jai Singh very wisely decided to take up a position between both, i.e., in the eastern part of Shivas dominion, whence he could also easily threaten Bijapur, Instead of pushing the war into the Western Ghats or the Konkan plaint further west. ”

“ Sayyid Masaud, the Mughal qiladar of Raigarh, wrote to Jai Singh's Paymaster complaining of the lack of provisions, etc. in the fort, and the collection of lead, gunpowder, rockets and infantry in the neighbourhood of Raigarh by some men who gave themselves out to be Shiva's followers and pretended that they intended to invade Bijapuri territory. At this alarming news Jai Singh sent orders to provision the fort as a precaution and to hold it strongly, pending the arrival of Udai-bhan [the permanent qiladar ?] ”

“ The Bijapuris delivered three bloody assaults on the heroic rear-guard, all of which were beaten off. But when at last the gun-fire from Vishalgarh gave the anxiously expected signal that Shivaji had reached safety within its walls, the gallant Baji Prabhu was lying mortally wounded with 700 of his followers. The faithful servant had done his appointed duty. The Bijapuris declined to besiege Vishalgarh, and retired to their own territory, after recovering Pavangarh and some other forts in addition to Panhala. ”

“ BISHANPUR.
Bishanpur is famed as an old place, and certainly contains very many temples and other old remains, but their age is not such as to merit detailed notice of them. They are almost all built in the Lower Bengal style, with curved roof lines, and the ornamentation consists generally of sculptured or moulded tile-work. Some of these are very fine, and stand out the weather very well; they consist chiefly of scenes from the lives of Rama or the Pândus, but principally of Krishna, to whom, or to whose mistress, most of the temples are dedicated ”

“ BIJNOR, or Bijnaur, a town and district of British India in the Bareilly division of the United Provinces. The town is about 3 m. from the left bank of the Ganges. The population in 1901 was 17,583. There is a large trade in sugar. The American Methodists have a mission, which maintains some aided schools, and there is an English high school for boys.
The District of Bijnor has an area of 1791 sq. m. The aspect of the country is generally a level plain, but the northern part of it rises towards the Himalayas, the greatest elevation being 1342 ft. above the sea-level. ”

“ He was immediately seized by the guard and led before the King of Roum.
"Biyapri," said the prince, "whence do you come, and why did you act thus?" Biyapri answered: "O my lord, king of the world, your slave asks pardon a thousand and a thousand times. I will tell the whole truth. If they kill me, I shall die; if they hang me, I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me, I shall be taken very far away. When I was engaged in commerce I passed under a tree, and saw that in this tree there was a woman of the most marvellous beauty. ”

“ Bijistan is one of the principal towns of the Tabbas district, and contains about two thousand houses surrounded by gardens. It is a charming spot in this wilderness of barren hills and desert wastes, and lies at the base of an isolated ridge of hills, beyond which, to the west, is seen, down in a hollow, portion of the great salt desert of Yazd and Káshán. It is called Kavír, and its surface is of dazzling whiteness from saline encrustations.
The people here have suffered dreadfully from the famine, and have lost nearly all their cattle from the same cause. ”

“ Within the limits of the old fort is a small stone mosque, very plain, but of peculiar architecture, and attributed to Hājī Ilyās, its traditional founder (c. 1350) . Its command of water traffic in three directions makes the town a place of considerable commercial importance. Hajipur has a station on the main line of the Bengal and North-western railway. ”

“ Galland has "Bisnagar," which the H. V. corrupts to Bishan-Garh = Vishnu's Fort, an utter misnomer. Bisnagar, like Bijnagar, Beejanuggur, Vizianuggur, etc., is a Prakrit corruption of the Sanskrit Vijßyanagara = City of Victory, the far-famed Hindu city and capital of the Narasingha or Lord of Southern India, mentioned in The Nights, vols. vi. 18; ix. 84. Nicolo de' Conti in the xvth century found it a magnificent seat of Empire some fifteen marches south of the pestilential mountains which contained the diamond mines. ”

“ The word Birjia, a synonym for Binjhwār, is similarly a corruption of bewar jia, and means one who is dependent on dahia or patch cultivation. Sir H. Risley gives Birjia, Binjhia and Binjhwār3 as synonymous terms, and Bhunjia may be another corruption of the same sort. The Binjhwārs are a Hinduised offshoot of the ancient Baiga tribe, who may probably have been in possession of the hills bordering the Chhattīsgarh plain as well as of the Satpūra range before the advent of the Gonds, as the term Baiga is employed for a village priest over a large part of this area. ”

“ I have acted according to my lights till the hair is grey on my head. If an old servant is no longer useful, he begs leave to retire from work and to pass his last days in peace."
"So far from considering thee useless, Gokul Das, I come to thee as a friend to a friend, to seek thy help. Thou shalt come with me to Rajmahal. Thou shalt pay up the arrears due from Birnagar estate. Thou shalt obtain orders from the Kanangoe for the restoration of the estate to Noren, the Imperial revenues being fully paid. And during my absence from Bengal thou shalt look after both Birnagar and Debipur. ”

“ A note of dissent rose among the Debipur men against the young Zemindar of Birnagar taking the helm. Nobo Kumar was about to forbid it, when the far-seeing Gokul Das once more intervened.
"It is not the rule of our races that a Zemindar should be the helmsman. But my master would strain the rule in favour of the heir of Birnagar and indulge him in his wish. It ill befits the heir of Birnagar, however, to compete against the rustic helmsman of Debipur. My master himself will, therefore, sit on the Debipur boat, and let the Lady of Debipur and her daughter be the Judges." ”

“ The country on the hills may produce 100,000 rupees a-year. Bilaspur, the capital, is the best town in these parts, and contains about 3000 houses, better built than usual. They consist entirely of stone, and are two or three stories high, with flat roofs. The air is very temperate, and snow falls occasionally in winter.
On the west side of the Satadru or Sutluj is one of these vallies called Dun, which is contained between the great range of mountains on the north, and a low ridge on the south. This valley is divided among many petty chiefs. ”

“ The supporters are a Bhil and a Rajput, attired for the forlorn-hope; commemorating not only the defences of Chitor, but also the connection of the great Bappa Rawul with the Bhils, who even now play the principal part in the Crown-Marking of a Rana of Udaipur. Here, again, Tod explains the matter at length. Banswara claims alliance with Udaipur, and carries a sun, with a label of difference of some kind. Jeypore has the five-coloured flag of Amber with a sun, because the House claim descent from Rama, and her crest is a kuchnar tree, which is the bearing of Dasaratha, father of Rama. ”